Safety and immunogenicity of Poxvirus - H5 AI recombinant vaccine delivered to newly-hatched chickens by nebulisation

Based on a preliminary research which proved safety and immunogenicity of Poxvirus vaccines (fowl origin) delivered by nebulisation, newly-hatched chickens were vaccinated with Poxvirus-H5 AI recombinant commercial vaccine. The vaccine given by nebulisation proved to be safe when applied during 30 and 300 seconds and none of the chickens in the trial showed any clinical signs from the respiratory or any other system. Vaccine virus was detected in the trachea and lungs of nebulised chickens already 20 hours after vaccination using specific primers by PCR reaction, but was not present in the bone marrow or other tissues. Persistency and level of specific protection against Poxvirus and Influenzavirus are still under investigation.